Residents of Lusaka have added their voice to the call by the family whose ten-day old baby was allegedly stolen by two University Teaching Hospital (UTH) maids to tighten security measures at the facility.
Barbara Mwape said an interview that management at UTH need to seriously ensure there is tight security at the hospital so that such an incident never repeats.
Ms Mwape said this is because as the biggest referral hospital in the country, many people depend on the services of UTH adding that incidents of babies being stolen will instill fear in the citizenry and also questions the credibility of the hospital.
“ What if this is not the first time this is happening at the facility,” she questioned.
Ms. Mwape, however, explained that hospitals and health facilities have responsible and reliable nurses, midwives, and maids who work professionally but sadly the two suspects wanted to act as Good Samaritans in a bad manner.
Emmanuel Zimba of Chilenje in Lusaka said incidents of missing babies will make expectant mothers shun the hospital which he said was dangerous to society.
He called for action to be taken to safeguard infants against being stolen and ensure each infant is correctly matched with its mother or legal guardian.
Mr. Zimba charged that while infants and their mothers are in hospital, the staff is responsible for their safety no matter where they are located in the facility.
He said government and hospital management should collaborate to protect infants from being stolen as such occurrences have devastating effects on the infant’s family and communities.
Police in Lusaka apprehended four suspects this week in connection with a ten-day old baby that went missing at the University Teaching Hospital-UTH on May 7,2022.
Among the suspects are two UTH maids, whose identity has been withheld.
